Open Water Man/Woman of the Year

All the 2008 Man of the Year and Woman of the Year nominees are incredible people who have very positively helped the sport of open water swimming as an athlete, race director, administrator, coach and/or promoter. From athletes like Maarten van der Weijden, who came back from leukemia to win the Olympic 10K gold medal, and Natalie du Toit, who warmed people's hearts around the world with her courageous swims and humble nature despite her handicap... ...to administrators like Sid Cassidy and Shelley Taylor-Smith who both worked tirelessly and feverishly to get open water swimming into the Olympics - and pulled off a great event that was televised live to over 70 countries... ...all these nominees are wonderfully talented and dedicated people. As I look at the early poll results, it appears that open water enthusiasts are voting strongly for the individuals who organize and host races. Race directors like Douglas Woodring in Hong Kong, Emilio Casanueva in Santa Barbara and Scott Rice in New Zealand are representative of race directors worldwide who spend countless hours putting on races. A few other things stand out in my mind as I look at these early results: 1. Athletes who continue to perform at a high level after years of competition, such as Alex Kostich of California, Penny Palfrey and Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, are highly respected and are doing well in the voting. 2. Marcia Cleveland and Randy Nutt have obviously earned the respect for the work they have done and achievements they have earned over the years. 3. If this information were also available in languages other than English, voting patterns may change (somewhat). Thank you very much for visiting and voting. Stay tuned.

All the 2008 Man of the Year and Woman of the Year nominees are incredible people who have very positively helped the sport of open water swimming as an athlete, race director, administrator, coach and/or promoter. From athletes like Maarten van der Weijden, who came back from leukemia to win the Olympic 10K gold medal, and Natalie du Toit, who warmed people's hearts around the world with her courageous swims and humble nature despite her handicap... ...to administrators like Sid Cassidy and Shelley Taylor-Smith who both worked tirelessly and feverishly to get open water swimming into the Olympics - and pulled off a great event that was televised live to over 70 countries... ...all these nominees are wonderfully talented and dedicated people. As I look at the early poll results, it appears that open water enthusiasts are voting strongly for the individuals who organize and host races. Race directors like Douglas Woodring in Hong Kong, Emilio Casanueva in Santa Barbara and Scott Rice in New Zealand are representative of race directors worldwide who spend countless hours putting on races. A few other things stand out in my mind as I look at these early results: 1. Athletes who continue to perform at a high level after years of competition, such as Alex Kostich of California, Penny Palfrey and Edith van Dijk of the Netherlands, are highly respected and are doing well in the voting. 2. Marcia Cleveland and Randy Nutt have obviously earned the respect for the work they have done and achievements they have earned over the years. 3. If this information were also available in languages other than English, voting patterns may change (somewhat). Thank you very much for visiting and voting. Stay tuned.